Blame game begins after Malaysia Airlines crash

The United States said Thursday that Russia's support for separatists in Ukraine created the conditions in which a Malaysian airliner was apparently shot down with the loss of nearly 300 people.

18.07.2014

TOPSHOTS
A picture taken on July 17, 2014 shows wreckages of the Malaysian airliner carrying 295 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur after it crashed, near the town of Shaktarsk, in rebel-held east Ukraine. Pro-Russian rebels fighting central Kiev authorities claimed on Thursday that the Malaysian airline that crashed in Ukraine had been shot down by a Ukrainian jet. AFP PHOTO/DOMINIQUE FAGET

(AFP) The United States said Thursday that Russia's support for separatists in Ukraine created the conditions in which a Malaysian airliner was apparently shot down with the loss of nearly 300 people.

Washington also demanded an "unimpeded" international inquiry into the disaster and warned evidence among scattered debris, on an escalating civil war battlefield in Ukraine, should not be tampered with.

The White House response to the tragedy was a clear rebuttal to Russian President Vladimir Putin's charge that Ukraine's crackdown on separatist rebels stoked tensions that led to the crash.

Putin was quoted by Ria Novosti news agency as saying: "There is no doubt that the country on whose territory this terrible tragedy happened bears responsibility," adding: "This tragedy would not have happened if there was peace in the country, if military operations had not resumed in the south-east of Ukraine."

The Russian leader then said he had ordered military officials to "provide all aid needed to shed light on this criminal act."

The White House in a statement meanwhile said: "While we do not yet have all the facts, we do know that this incident occurred in the context of a crisis in Ukraine that is fueled by Russian support for the separatists, including through arms, materiel, and training."

In calls with pro-Western Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, President Barack Obama put down an early marker on the necessary conditions for an air accident investigation that will have to take place in the middle of an escalating civil war.

More than 150 Dutch citizens are believed to be among the dead when the Malaysia Airlines jet crashed. US officials said the jet was hit by a surface-to-air missile but could not say who launched the attack and from where.

The White House said that Obama told Rutte the United States was prepared to contribute "immediate assistance" for "a prompt, full, credible and unimpeded international investigation."

Obama and Rutte also agreed on the need for "immediate access" to the site of the crash in territory held by pro-Russia separatists, the statement said.

"Thorough and transparent" investigation

The airliner went down a day after Washington toughened sanctions on Moscow, saying it had not done enough to convince Ukrainian separatists to lay down their arms or to stop the flow of weapons and material across the border to rebels fighting the government in Kiev.

Ironically, initial reports that the plane had gone down over the war zone came when Obama was on the phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin explaining why Washington was taking new swipes at the defense, finance and energy sectors of the Russian economy.

The White House warned in an account of a call between Obama and Poroshenko that evidence from the plane, which was carrying 298 people, must not be taken out of the country until a "thorough and transparent" investigation had taken place.

Obama assured Poroshenko that US experts will "offer all possible assistance immediately" to investigate what caused the plane to plunge from the sky.

"The presidents emphasised that all evidence from the crash site must remain in place on the territory of Ukraine until international investigators are able to examine all aspects of the tragedy," the White House said.

The White House statements raised the possibility that US officials are concerned pro-Russian forces could try to tamper with the evidence of the wrecked aircraft to cover up who is to blame.

International leaders react

Obama also spoke by telephone to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, as his country reeled from the second disaster to strike the national airline within four months.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, and is believed to have crashed into a remote part of the Indian Ocean, though no trace of the plane has yet been found.

Separately, the Federal Aviation Administration urged US-registered planes to avoid flying over eastern Ukraine "due to recent events and the potential for continued hazardous activities."

The notice followed an April FAA ban on flights over the Crimean Peninsula annexed by Russia and adjacent zones of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. Most other airlines have also redrafted flight routes in order to avoid Ukrainian airspace, while some have reportedly been avoiding the region for several months.

Other international leaders also slammed Russia for inciting violence in the region. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Russian aggression "the root of the ongoing conflict" in Ukraine. "While we do not yet know who is responsible for this attack, we continue to condemn Russia's military aggression and illegal occupation of Ukraine," he said in a statement on Thursday.

Australian PM Tony Abbott meanwhile said in parliament: "As things stand, this looks less like an accident than a crime," adding: "And if so, the perpetrators must be brought to justice."